隐秘的对决 Quietly Drops Concept Poster

The official Weibo account for 隐秘的对决 quietly dropped a concept poster today as part of iQIYI’s latest slate reveal for 2026. Not much new information—except one key update: the official English title is Secret Duel.

Liu Cixin's Ball Lightning 球状闪电 Unveils Official Cast

Although it’s no longer a big secret, Ball Lightning, the drama series adaptation of Liu Cixin’s novel, has never officially announced its cast till today.

As part of a larger iQiyi drama showcase announcement, the official Weibo channel (along with the cast members) released the official poster and introduced their characters for the first time.

Encounter with You (转身遇到你): A Look at Tong Yao's Shelved Drama

While looking around for information about Encounter with You (转身遇到你), I realized there's very little available in English, and some of the Chinese information about this drama also seems to be incorrect. I hope to fill that gap, ensuring international fans have a more accurate picture so they can decide if they want to invest time into this series.

A Glimpse into "Footprints of Change" 足迹 - The Character Video [Eng Subs]

I recently watched and subtitled the "Character Feature" video, one of the promotional clips for Footprints of Change, as preparation for starting the series. Some parts of the feature were particularly interesting, especially the sections set in the 50s and 90s. The characters in the 30s seem more typical of that period as in we've seen similar characters before in other series from that era. But I won't know for sure until I begin the series itself. That will be soon, since I’ve already purchased a subscription on iQiyi to watch both this drama and Encounter with You.

Footprints of Change 足迹: English Subs for the “Making Of"

I personally love the collar on this.

I haven’t actually started watching Footprints of Change yet. I’m still in the middle of another drama, and since I usually watch with a companion, we have to coordinate our schedules.

That said, I sometimes multitask while watching, so I ended up creating English subtitles for the “making of” video for fun. I hadn’t planned to do any at first, but it looks like iQiyi didn’t translate all of the promotional material, leaving some interesting content untranslated.

Tong Yao’s “My Spicy Girlfriend” Resurfaces on iQiyi as “Encounter with You”

screen grab

This is an interesting development for Tong Yao fans. Previously, in an effort to do a complete retrospective of her work, I tried to download all the episodes of My Spicy Girlfriend 转身遇到你 (premiere 2016) for archival. It proved to be a difficult task. By the time I tried, sources were scarce and while I did end up getting a copy of the drama series, the quality of the video was poor. The resolution was pretty lousy and the audio wasn't in sync. My curiosity about this drama, however, was dampened by the video quality.

A First Look at Tong Yao in Footprints of Change 足迹

I haven’t had time to watch Footprints of Change yet because I’ve been quite busy, but Tong Yao’s part of the story proper started airing last night for VIP members from Episode 11 onwards. What some people may not realise is that she actually appeared way back in Episode 1, about five minutes in.

Quick Update: 足迹’s Official English Title Revealed

Quick update today because I’m pressed for time: the official English title for 足迹 is apparently Footprints of Change, and honestly, I think it’s perfect for this drama.

Tong Yao’s New Drama Zu Ji (足迹) Premieres September 4

The official Weibo account for 足迹 (Zu Ji) announced that the series will premiere on 4 September on iQiyi and Tencent channels. Unfortunately, there’s still no official English title. I expect it will stream internationally on iQiyi’s or Tencent’s global platforms as well, but I haven’t seen any listings yet. Once those appear, we’ll likely get the confirmed English title. Until then, I’ll continue referring to it as Zu Ji.